Conveyer.



W. F. PERKlNS.

Patented Sept. 24, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

x S l v I gwmno Pik-Parham t attain/e145 W. F. PERKINS.

CONVEYER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 23. Isla.

l ,2?9,579 Patented Sept. 24, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEETI 2.

WILLIAMy E. PERKINS, 0E CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AsSIGNoE'To THE WEBSTER ME'e COMPANY, 0E TIEEIN, oHIo. .v t

CoNvEYEE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

' Patented sept. 24., reis.

i Application led March 23, 1918. Serial No. 224,243. f

for endless bucket conveyers used in handling caustic for example.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a simple andpractical improved driving mechanism for conveyers of the above general type which may be inexpensive'ly manufactured and installed. A

further object is to provide a mechanism of the above general character in which theV pulsating movement heretofore incident to conveyer mechanisms-of this general character is eliminated, thereby preventing agitation or spilling of the contents of the buckets. A furt-her object is to provide mechanism of the, above general character which will be reliable and efficient in use and operation.

Other objects will be in part obvious from the annexed drawings and in part indicated in connection therewith by the following analysis of this invention. v

This invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of parts and in the unique relations of the members and in the rela-tive proportioning and. disposition thereof, all as more completely outlined herein.

To enable others skilled in the art so fully to comprehend the underlying features thereof that they may embody the same by the numerous modificationsI in structure and relation contemplated by this invention, drawings depicting a preferred form have' been annexed as apart of this disclosure, and in such drawings like characters of reference denote corresponding parts throughout'all the views, in which- Figure l is an elevational view partly in section showing a portion of the conveyer system with thedriving mechanism applied thereto;

Fig. Z is a detail transverse sectional view;

Fig. 3 isa' detail perspective view of a driving element.

In order that a clearer .perception of the ing movementin the bucket chain.

present invention may be had, it may be stated tha-tin what may be termed' chain j drive mechanism for endless conveyers heretofore used, there has ,been the objection of a certain amount of shock at the moment of contact between the driving and driven members whlch produces a. pulsatagitation however slight is particularly undesirable where the buckets contain liquids such as caustic, havingcrystallizing action, as they cool or evaporate. The present invention is directed to the application of a chain drive for an endless bucket'conveyer so constructed, positioned Aand arranged with respect\ to the driven elements that this pula sat-ing movement will be to a large extent, if not entirely, eliminated.

These objects, among others, are accomplished in the embodiment of the invention hereinafter described by constructing the driving mechanism inthe form of a substantially elliptical endless chain positioned Vwithin the circuit formed by the endless bucket conveyer whereby the driving instrumentalities -proper are gradually brought into engagement with the driven instrumentalities until they exert their maximum pressure and then gradually moved out of contact therewith, thus eliminating asmuch as possible the shock heretofore incident to this broad type of conveyer mechanism.

- -As herein shown andl described the conveyer comprises a plurality of buckets 6 connected along their side edges by links 7 which are in turn pivotally connected with adjacent elements at 8. are provided at'each ,pivot point' 8 adapted to travel along track 11. This bucket circuitmay be of any desired type having iilling and dumping stationsaccording to the use to which it 1s to be put. i

Atany convenient point within the circuit lis positioned the driving mechanism which Such Suitable rollers 10 from any suitable source of power through a system of reducing gearing 1414l in order to -drive anl endless chain 15 of any desired type. This chain, however, is preferably of theduplex type and comprises a series of links 16 pivotally connected to each other at 17 and provided with rollers` 18 adapted tbtravel'along a track 20 at the upper part and hang free at the lower part.

Pivoted hooks 21 (Fig. 3) having curved faces 22 and being provided with rearward overbalancing extensions are associated with certain pivots and are so positioned with respect to the transverse dimension `of the conveyer as to engage the rollers 10 of the bucket conveyer (Fig. 2) and thus drive the same in a general clockwise direction. It is to be seen by reference to Fig. l that the driving chain 15 occupies a substantially elliptical position with a portion of the longer arc substantially tangential to the line of pull of the main conveyer. This driving chain is a short pitch chain, the unit of which is less than any multiple by which the pitch of the main carrier is divisible; the idea being that the variation in the chain that is not a multiple pitch of the main chain would cause the pulling hook on the drive chain to contact with the rollers on the main chain at intervals, such that there would be one and only one pulling hook in full contact at one time on each side of the carrier, and this would contact the main rollers in a manner such that the slight variation in the pitch of the driving chain would in no manner tend to cause the main carrier chain to pulsate.

Thus the hooks 21 gradually come up into engagement with the rollers 10 and as they move relatively toward the right exert by reason of their curved engaging surfaces 22 a gradually increasing pressure upon the roller for a relatively short period of time or until the next succeeding hook has come into full engaging position at which time the first hook gradually moves out of full pressure contact and inally entirely leaves its engagement with the roller 10. Tn other -words the hooks approach up underneath main carrier rollers in such amanner that the fore part of the hook supports the roller then as the chaini travels ahead the hook is thrown up in a horizontal position and gradually takes the load ofi' the hook ahead.

From this description it will be .seen that the driving instrumentalities represented by the hooks 21 gradually move into contact with the driven instrumentalities or rollers 2O with a gradually increasing pressure and then move out of engagement therewith while the next` pair of driving and driven instrumentalities are coming into full operation, thereby eliminating the shock incident to other types of driving mechanism, and in which certain shock or impact occurs to prod uce a pulsating movement which is desired to be overcome by the invention here- 1n disclosed. For instance, an ordinary sprocket when working with a long pitch chain such as is used with this particular machine, causes the chain to vary in its speed, that is, When the chain is on the sprocket the radius around which the speed of the chain travels would be the distance from the chord or pitch length of the chain to the center of the wheel, and when the chain is coming on the sprocket then the radius is from the center of the wheel to the center of the chain articulation point or joint, making the difference in the radius of the actions between andi-, which on slow speed such as is used in this particular ease, gives a very marked pulsation motion to the chain which is very objectionable as before mentioned.

Tt will be observed that, in the position where the hook is exerting its maximum driving effect, as well as in the positions on each side thereof, the curved face of the hook engages its individual conveyer member ,on both sides of the line drawn from the pivot of the hook through the center of the conveyer member. For this reason, when the hooks are brought into their engaging position, all of the thrust of the conveyer chains is transmitted through the pivots of the hooks. This obviates the necessity of providing separate guides for the overbalanced ends of the hooks and eliminates the friction which would result were such guides used.

It is thought from the above description that the operation and method of use of an apparatus of this character will be clear to those familiar with the art and a further detailed statement thereof is unnecessary.

li realize that considerable variation is possible in the details of construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I therefore do not intend to limit myself to the specific form shown and described.

Having thus described my invention what T claim as new and desire to secure by Let-ters Patent is:

l. Tn an apparatus of the character described, a conveyer having spaced members,

an endless driving element having pivoted overbalanced driving instrumentalit-ies thereon spaced apart a distance less t-han the spacing of said members and arranged to engage said spaced members at points on both sides of a line between the center of said spaced members and the pivots of said driving instrumentalities to cause the entire thrust of each of said driving instrumentalities being transmitted through the pivots, and means for guiding one flight of the driving element gradually toward the conveyer to carry the driving instrumentalities thereon with successive engagement with the spaced members, and then away from the path of movement of the conveyer.

2. An apparatus of the character described including a conveyer comprising links and spaced transversely extending members, an endless driving element coactmounted on the driving element, and having upwardly and rearwardly curved formed faces and rearward overbalancing extensions, the pivotal axis of each instrumentality being approximately in line with the curved face thereof, and the distance between said instrumentalities being less than the distance between said members on the conveyer, and means for guiding a Hight of the driving element gradually toward the conveyer, thenapproximately parallel thereto, and then away from the conveyer.

3. An apparatus'of the character described including a conveyer comprisinglinks and spaced transverse rods carrying supporting rollers, endless driving elements moving in the same direction veyer, one on each side thereof, and each element comprising links, certain of the links at spaced intervals having ears, driving members pivoted to the ears, intermediate its ends, the forward end of each member being upwardly and rearwardly curved to'it beneath and behind a corresponding roller on the conveyer, each member having a rear'- ward extension, with a downwardly projecting lug, the distance between the curvedl faces of the members being less than the distance between thesaid rollers, and tracks over which the upper Hight of the endless element passes. guiding the element .gradually toward and' in the direction of. saidv conveyer, then parallel thereto, and then away therefrom.

In an apparat-us of the character described, a conveyer having spaced members,

4an endless driving element, a plurality of overbalanced drlvmgmembers mounted on said endless driving element, each of said driving members having a curved face arranged to engage the spaced members ,of the conveyer on each slde of a line between the pivot and the center of theengaged mem-k bers, and means for guiding said pivoted drive members successively into position for exert-ing a maximum driving force on said conveyer members. v

' 5. In an apparatus of the character described, a conveyer having spaced members, an endless driving element, a. plurality of overbalanced driving members mounted on said endless driving element,` each of said driving members having a curved face ar ranged to engage the spaced members of the conveyer on each side of a line between the pivot and the center of the engaged member, and means for guiding said pivotedl drive members successively into position for exerting a maximum Idriving force on said conveyer members, the driving member in the as the con-l rear of the one in driving position being arranged to exert alift-mg force on the conveyer member.

v arranged to exert a lifting force on the conveyer member, and the driving member in advance being partly disengaged from its respective conveyer member.

7. In an apparatus of the character described, a conveyer having spaced members, an endless driving element, a plurality of overbalanced pivoted driving members mounted on said endless driving element, eachof said driving members being arranged to engage one of said spaced meme bers at points on both sides of a line between the vcenter of the spacedmembers and the pivot of said driving member to transmit all of the driving thrust through its pivot.

8. In an apparatus of the character described, a conveyer having spaced members, an endless driving chain, a plurality of pivoted hooks carried by said chain, each of said hooks having a curved face arranged t'o at pointsy engage one of said spaced members on both sides of a line between the center of the member and the pivot of the hook.

9. In an apparatus of the character described, a conveyer having spaced members, an endless driving chain, a pluralityy of pivoted hooks carried bysaid chain, each of said hooks having a curved face arranged to. engage one of said spaced members at points on both sides of a line between the center of j the member and t-he pivot ofthe hook, said endless chain having a portion parallel with the direction of movement of t-he conveyer, and the engagement of the hooks taking place during their travel along said-parallel portions.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

VILLIM F. PERKINS.

Witness-es:

,FRANK KALISEE,

GUs'r SHANKS. 

